So What Does This Have To Do With The Folks In AV Land?

Back when I was an audio/video installer (cue the instrumental music), a well-known manufacturer of AV racks would use a handful of key codes for the locking doors on the front and rear of the AV racks. Once an installer had the basic set of keys, he or she could basically unlock any AV rack made by that manufacturer. This was very helpful when troubleshooting AV racks, because the keys were often lost by clients.

Since the AV Rack enclosure keys were so common, they were more of a theft deterrent, and provided no way of truly stopping the theivery, nor was there any trace left behind indicating that someone had unlocked the front or back door.

Many AV integrators will add “security screws” which only prevent someone who was not smart enough, or just plain too lazy, to buy the associated security bit/driver. I remember some of my former coworkers taking it a step further, and hammering the mounting screw posts down until they were bent, just to stop another contractor who kept removing the integrator’s 1RU vanity plate.

About 15-20 years ago, some higher-education IT departments were the first groups that I saw to utilize the LAN ports on the data projectors for security purposes. They would ping the projectors once every minute or so, and if for some reason the projector did not respond, an email was automatically sent to the campus police department, telling them a projector thief may be in such and such room. If the police department was quick enough to respond, they might catch them in the act.

*Cough-cough* It’s All About Convergence *Cough-Cough*

Nowadays, AV rack keys and walking projectors are the least of our worries. As stated in today’s Proofpoint press release, “Cybercriminals have pioneered a new way to compromise corporate email systems, this time by using brute force attacks to steal Microsoft Office 365 login credentials of corporate users and then logging in as an imposter on the system. These new hacking techniques work even if the company has deployed single sign on or multi-factor authentication (MFA) as part of their security system. Once the hacker has logged in masquerading as a real employee, they have a wide spectrum of choices while operating within a corporation’s email instance to cause financial harm and data loss.”

Just as AV has fully converged with IT, so have our security concerns for both hardware and software. We don’t just sell projectors, flat panels, speakers, and AV racks, we sell cloud-based software solutions like Skype For Business, which will soon be a part of Microsoft Teams. Users use single-sign on or multi-factor authentication to access our conferencing and presentation systems, and collaborate with others in the cloud. We install tablet-style room reservation systems that work with Active Directory and company-wide scheduling systems like Microsoft Outlook and Exchange Server.

Having a compromised O365 account is like having a key to every AV system on the network, as well as valuable data stored in the company cloud. If our AV systems rely on a secure network, single sign-on, and active directory, then AV manufacturers, consultants, and integrators all need to be made aware of the inherent security risks. Integrated system components need to be fully vetted on test networks that use O365 and Proofpoint’s Cloud Account Defense (PCAD) or similar cloud-security solutions, so that there are no surprises when the systems are brought online. We need to go the extra mile, and “hammer down the screw posts” of AV/IT cyber-security, so-to-speak. Constant vigilance!

You Should Consider Cybersecurity During All Phases Of An Audiovisual Installation

By Paul Konikowski, CTS-D

Earlier this month, the San Francisco Bay Area was graced with the presence of President Barack Obama, who was here to participate in a Cybersecurity Summit at Stanford University. *Side note*, I am still unsure if it’s spelled as one word or two, cyber security, or with a dash, cyber-security, and the online jury seems to be rather undecided. So for the sake of brevity, I am sticking with the one-word-version, cybersecurity. *End side note*. At the aforementioned summit of cybersecurity experts, students, and information technology managers in Palo Alto, Mr. Obama signed an executive order encouraging the private sector to share cybersecurity threat information with other companies and the U.S. government.

Rising stock prices of cybersecurity software firms like Palo Alto Networks (PANW), FireEye (FEYE), and CyberArk (CYBR) have also reflected this increased level of awareness. Why? Because unlike guns or nuclear warfare, cyber hacking can happen right under our noses, for years and years, without anyone even noticing. Larger firms have realized that they need the best of the best to combat these criminals, and investors have taken notice to the growth potential of these new age software “heroes” who will do battle for a price, much like the Routiers, the early mercenary soldiers of the Middle Ages.

As audiovisual experts we also need to become IT cybersecurity experts, at least to some degree. At minimum, we have to know what risk we are adding to the network before, during, and after the AV installation. Here is a list of ways you can protect your audio, video, and control systems against theft and hackers, in no particular order:

Have a frank and honest discussion with the project team about cybersecurity. Find out who is in charge of the network, and who will need access to the systems.

Use motorized projection screens that are fitted into the ceilings to discourage theft.

Mount projectors using security boxes, or scissor lifts to hide them up inside the ceilings.

AV touch panels and camera controllers often have passwords, but are they updated?

Unfortunately, most AV equipment racks are made by just a few manufacturers, and each uses one or two different key codes in their door locks. Once you have a set of the common AV rack keys, you can open almost any locked AV equipment rack in the U.S.

“Security screws” can also limit the amateur thefts, but any real crook will have tools.

These are just a portion of the areas that the AV Design Engineer and Project Manager need to address during a project. The real problems are the bugs and “holes” that are accidentally left in a program, that nobody catches, mainly because, no one is looking for them. That is why it is critical that today’s AV integration firms hire a well-trained, experienced QA (quality assurance) department who will double-check the engineer’s design, the programmer’s code, and the completed installation.

We all make mistakes, its human nature. And even when we don’t make mistakes, we certainly overlook things that others might catch. Having someone else check your AV design, bug test your code, or evaluate your network or website for cybersecurity threats will always uncover more than checking it yourself. If you are not putting up “constant vigilance” against the hackers, and paying an expert to test your systems, then you are just living in denial, thinking that your systems are working properly and secure. If these hackers can break into insurance companies and Target, you have to assume that they are trying to hack into your systems as well, (or that they already have!)